VIVEK CHHETRI AND RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Darjeeling/Kalimpong, Dec. 11: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today failed to find 21 committed supporters of Gorkhaland who would sit for an indefinite hunger strike in Darjeeling town, forcing the party to ultimately settle for 14 for the day.
The Morcha has organised a number of fasts in the past two years for various reasons — from demanding the scrapping of the Sixth Schedule bill to permanent job status for contractual workers — but this is the first time that the number of participants announced by the party failed to turn up.
The fast is part of the series of agitation programmes lined up by the party which now wants Gorkhaland to be dealt simultaneously with Telangana. The Morcha has also announced a four-day general strike from December 14 in the hills. However, the hunger strike, to be held by batches of 21, is supposed to be spread across the hills and the Dooars and the Terai — the areas that the Morcha wants to be part of Gorkhaland.
In Darjeeling, the reason for poor attendance for the fast is perhaps the fear that unlike earlier hunger strikes this time there is little chance of the fast-unto-death being lifted soon. In fact, Morcha president Bimal Gurung, who visited the participants this morning in front of the district magistrate’s office, made it clear that it would not be easy. Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s 11-day fast seems to have appealed to the Morcha leadership.
“This is our last battle and we have to win this round. You must all be ready to sacrifice yourselves for the cause for a better future of the coming generation,” Gurung said before leaving in a hurry for what he said was to track developments in Delhi where home minister P. Chidambaram urged a visiting Morcha delegation to withdraw their agitation. He asked them to concentrate on the December 21 tripartite talks between the Centre, state and the Morcha leaders.
“He urged us to withdraw the strike and promised to put the issue on fast track. He also said the Centre was ready for the talks and we should carry on with the meeting,” Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said over the phone from Delhi.
Asked about the party stand following Chidambaram’s assurance, Morcha central committee member Amar Lama said a complete report had been sought from the delegation and the party would probably react tomorrow.In the capital, Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, who had won on Morcha support and has promised to represent its cause, said the Telangana issue “will not be exploited”. The MP said the hunger strike was only because the government has approved the formation of Telangana and not Gorkhaland.
Justifying today’s low attendance in Darjeeling, Lama said: “The announcement was made in a very short time. One has to be mentally prepared for a fast unto death. Also, many schools are having their annual examinations.” Morcha treasurer Dawa Lama said “more people would definitely be joining from tomorrow”.
The picture was a contrast in Kalimpong and Kurseong where leaders of the Janmukti Secondary Teachers’ Organisation (JSTO), Gorkha Primary Teachers’ Organisation and Janmukti Karmachari Sangatan took the lead.
The majority of the 21-member team drawn from the Morcha’s frontal organisations in Kalimpong are senior leaders of their respective units. “We believe leaders should lead from the front,” said Hari Dahal, the secretary of JSTO’s Kalimpong unit. Dahal apart, the JSTO contingent includes Tshering Tamang, the chief coordinator of the Morcha’s Education Monitoring Cell, Bijay Pradhan, the secretary of the JSTO’s central committee, and Binay Kumar Singh, the president of JSTO’s Kalimpong unit.
The primary teachers’ organisation representatives include Dataram Sarma and Dawa Tamang, the two secretaries of the unit. The Karmachari Sangathan has among others Khadga Bikram Subba, the Kalimpong unit president, and Arup Lama, the office secretary.
Unlike previous occasions, none of the people on fast underwent medical tests before beginning their protest. “We refused to take the test because we didn’t want to be deterred from going on fast under medical advice,” said Dahal.
The protesters said they would only break the fast once the Gorkhaland Bill is tabled in the winter session of Parliament along with that of Telangana. “This time round we are very determined to remain steadfast in our resolve till we achieve our goal,” said Dahal.
In Kurseong, seven of the 21 protesters taking part in the hunger strike were women. The president of the JSTO’s Kurseong subdivision, Kaziman Silal, and secretary Nirmal Kumar Pradhan are among the participants.
The hunger strike also began at Pintail Village on the outskirts of Siliguri where nine persons have gone on fast. In Kalchini, in the Dooars, where the Morcha-backed Independent won the recent Assembly byelection, all 21 supporters turned up to take part in the hunger strike.
CPMspeak
The Darjeeling district CPM today trained guns at the Congress and Trinamul Congress, accusing them of opening a Pandora’s box while agreeing to the formation of Telangana. The district leadership is also sending a letter to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, seeking an all-party meeting at the state-level immediately.
“The announcement made by the Congress government of which Trinamul is an ally over Telangana has incited the Morcha and other separatist forces across north Bengal,” state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said here today. “The Congress has to take responsibility if any deterioration of law and order occurs in this part of the state,” he warned. After Telangana Gorkhaland Demand gts fillip
Sify News: A four-member Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) delegation alongwith Darjeeling Member of Parliament Jaswant Singh met Home Minister P. Chidambaram here Friday to press for creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland in northern West Bengal.
The GJM has announced a four-day bandh and relay hunger strike in the hills, triggering an exodus of tourists from the region.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting, Jaswant Singh said he had assured the home minister that 'peace will be maintained' during the bandh, but added that 'people must give voice to their sentiments'.
He said the demand for Gorkhaland is the 'oldest demand for separate statehood of any state carved out in the union of India'.
'I emphasized that this is not an attempt in any fashion to exploit the Telangana announcement or to ride piggyback on the Telangana situation,' he said.
'The people's aspiration in the Gorkhaland area were raised by the fact that Telangana was announced,' he said.
Singh said that Chidambaram did share 'his understanding that there was a kind of sentiment in Gorkhaland hills that was excited by the announcement of Telangana'.
'I also mentioned that tripartite discussions (on Gorkhaland) due to be held on Dec 21 must be held in Darjeeling,' he said.
A four-member GJM delegation, led by its general secretary Roshan Giri, arrived in New Delhi Friday. They are also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and opposition leaders L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Hill strike takes toll on tourism
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Hill-bound people at a motor stand in Siliguri on Friday
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TT, Siliguri, Dec. 11: The four-day strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills from Monday has prompted tourists to cancel bookings.
At this time of the year with winter vacation in schools and the festive season of Christmas and New Year approaching, many domestic tourists head for Darjeeling hills, Sikkim and the Dooars to spend holidays.
“This is exactly what we were apprehending. Despite the Morcha assurance of a cordial atmosphere before the tripartite talks, the strike has been called. Bookings of six rooms in my resort have been cancelled. There were many cancellations in other resorts too,” said Kamal Bhowmik, secretary, the Lataguri Resort Owners’ Association. The tourist season in the Dooars is from September to April.
According to operators, the Morcha agitation during this time of the season last year had hampered their business. “We were doing very good business this time compared to last year which was lean. Almost all the resorts were packed. If the result of tripartite talks is not favourable, there are chances that the strike may be extended. We are, therefore, not giving any assurances to the tourists,” said Bhowmik. “Those tourists who still want to keep their bookings during the strike, will have to contend with treks inGorumara and Chapramari. We will, however, not be able to take them to other destinations like Suntalay Khola, Rocky Island, Samsing and Jhalong (the places in the Dooars that are likely to be affected by the strike).”
Tour operators in Siliguri have also been flooded with enquiries ever since the news of the Morcha strike spread.
“We have received numerous calls from our clients enquiring about the strike. Already 15 cancellations have been made. Since a lot of foreign tourists visit the region during this time, we have informed our agents abroad about the strike so that they are not harassed,” said Vinod Prasad, who heads a Siliguri-based travel agency. He cited the example of one Philip Duffin and his family from the UK, who had to return from Siliguri abandoning his trip to Darjeeling last year because of a similar strike in the hills, had to cancel his visit this time also for the agitation.
Tour operators in Sikkim — the Himalayan state is also affected by the hill strike as the state’s only lifeline NH31A runs through Darjeeling district — are also complaining of losing foreign tourists because of the agitation.
“Five to six groups of tourists from Australia, New Zealand and Canada cancelled their trekking expeditions and left as they have flights scheduled during the strike. If it continues, we will definitely lose both domestic and foreign tourists,” said Namgyal T. Sherpa, the proprietor of Namgyal Treks and Tours of Gangtok.
In Siliguri, people came down from the hills to buy food and other items before the strike.
Gorkhaland some way off as Govt insists on tripartite talk
TNN, 12 December,NEW DELHI: Long-pending demand for creation of Gorkhaland out of West Bengal doesn’t seem to be fructifying anytime soon as the Centre is learnt to have insisted for any solution to the vexed issue only through the process of tripartite talks involving the state government, which has never been keen to grant statehood to the agitating Gorkhas.
The next tripartite meeting — the fourth in the series which began last year — will be held on December 21. Although Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) representatives — who met home minister P Chidambaram on Friday amid new hope arising out of Telangana issue — were told that the talk process over the matter would end in a final solution, officials tracking the GJM’s affairs hinted that the result doesn’t seem to be in sight as neither the CPM-led state government nor the UPA’s ally Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress are in favour of statehood to Gorkhas.
The TMC has clearly stated that the party is against Gorkhaland. “We are against statehood for Gorkhaland. But we are for more autonomy, more economic and financial assistance to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). Their administrative powers are not to be encroached upon,” said Sudip Bandopadhyay, party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha.
The Morcha, however, made it clear that the Gorkhas would not take rest until their demand is met. Its members have begun fast-unto-death at five places in Darjeeling hills and Dooars. They have also called a 96-hour shutdown beginning December 14 to press for their demand. Centre should immediately table bill on Gorkhaland
IE, Kolkata: The Centre should immediately table a bill in Parliament for creation of Gorkhaland as it has decided to carve out a separate Telangana, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha spearheading an agitation for a separate state in West Bengal said on Friday. "Telengana is on the verge of being formed. We demand that the Centre consider our rightful demand as well and place a bill in the ongoing winter session of Parliament," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.
Giri said "If Telangana can be created, why not Gorkhaland? It is a 102-year-old demand and entirely justified. "We have the support of BJP. (BJP national spokesman) Rajiv Prasad Rudy has taken up the issue in Parliament," he said.
Speaking about the areas of the proposed state, he said it would include the hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, besides Siliguri in the plains and the Dooars in adjoining Jalpaiguri district. He said that Gorkhaland would cover 6500 sq km under which 11 assembly constituencies fall. Giri also said GJM would renew its ties with two other North Bengal organisations -- Kamtapur Progressive Party demanding a Kamtapur state and Greater Coochbehar Democratic Party seeking a separate Cooch Behar state.
"We have very good relations with KPP president Atul Roy and GCDP chief Asutosh Barma," he said. Asked how the GJM's demand for Gorkhaland was different from that of the Gorkha National Liberation Front chief Subhas Ghishing, Giri said "their's was a bloody movement, but ours follow is Gandhian. "Our movement will never be through armed struggle. Ours agitation will be confined to bandhs, dharnas and hunger strikes." To a question that Gorkhaland may not be realised as all mainstream political parties were against it, he replied "We are not bothered. We will realise our demand through a forceful movement." On the December 21 tripartite talks in Darjeeling, Giri said it would be at the official level. "But we want the tripartite talks at the political level."
At a tripartite meeting in Delhi on August 11, the Centre, the West Bengal government and the GJM had agreed that the Hill Council would be abolished and an alternative administrative arrangement made.
A GJM memorandum which was submitted to the Centre earlier had claimed that historically the demand for a separate state was justified as the territory was ceded by Nepal in 1815 and was never a part of West Bengal prior to Independence.
West Bengal rejects demand for Gorkhaland Kolkata, Dec 11 (PTI) The ruling Left Front and the opposition Trinamool Congress and the Congress today made common cause in opposing the demand by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha for Gorkhaland on the lines of Telangana. "We don''t want division of Bengal," Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, said in Delhi.
CLP leader in West Bengal Manas Bhunia told PTI that the state Congress wanted the Darjeeling problem resolved under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. This was decided at the recent WBPCC ''Chintan Shibir'' in Krishnagar presided over by WBPCC chief Pranab Mukherjee, he said.
Monoj Bhattacherjee, a central committee member of RSP, a Left Front constituent, said "my party is against the formation of smaller states on the basis of regional considerations." The creation of states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, he said, had not helped in improving the status of the poor.
Secretary of CPI(M)''s Darjeeling District Committee Jibesh Sarkar said "We cannot allow a division of Bengal. There is a vast difference between Telangana and Gorkhaland.
More importantly, Gorkhaland does not meet the basic requirements necessary to form a state." PTI PKC PC.
Mamta's Party demands a separate state HT, Ranchi:Now, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has demanded creation of a separate state of Santhal Paragna by carving out six northeastern districts of Jharkhand.
Taking a cue from other votaries of smaller states, an AITC leader on Friday demanded creation of a separate state in Jharkhand, which will comprise six district of the present Santhal Paragna division with its headquarters at Dumka, about 450 km northeast from the state capital.
The six tribal-dominated districts of Dumka, Godda, Jamtara, Deoghar, Sahebgunj and Pakur, which have been neglected since the carving out of Jharkhand from Bihar in November 2000, would comprise the new state, the Trinamool Congress in-charge of Santhal Pargana Ashok Murmu told Hindustan Times over phone from Dumka.
Justifying the demand, Murmu said if Manipur and Andaman with one MP each and Tripura with two MPs could be states, so could Santhal Pargana, which currently has 30 assembly constituencies and three Lok Sabha constituencies.
He said, his party, which has strong support base in the neighbouring state West Bengal, would soon launch an agitation under the leadership of the Party president and Union Rail Minister Mamta Banerjee to mobilize support for the separate state.
Murmu, who is contesting assembly elections from Dumka seat on Trinamool Congress symbol, also said, he had already taken approval of Mamta for launching such agitation. The party would also demand a special financial package from the Centre for overall development of Santhal Paragna, which was once part of the greater Bhagalpur (Bihar) district during in British period. Tourists Leave Darjeeling
Kolkata (W.Bengal), Dec 11 (IANS): Hundreds of visitors scrambled to leave the tourist resort of Darjeeling Friday as pro-Gorkhaland activists began a hunger strike and took out rallies in northern West Bengal to push for creation of a separate state.
Youth activists of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) began a hunger strike for what they called indefinite period in the hills and plains of Darjeeling district Friday demanding the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state.
Their action came a day after the GJM announced massive protests to push for their goal. The activists were spurred with the central nod to a separate Telangana state in Andhra Pradesh.
The activists are demanding Gorkhaland - to be carved out of Darjeeling district and the contiguous areas of the Dooars (foothills) in Jalpaiguri district.
Tourists began winding their way down the hill resort in cars, jeeps, trekkers and buses and long lines of vehicles could be seen on National Highway 55 that connects Siliguri with Darjeeling.
The GJM has announced a four-day shutdown in the hills Dec 14-17. Its youth activists staged sit-in at five separate spots in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the hills, in Siliguri in the plains and Matigara in the Dooars (foothills).
The protests come as a four-member GJM delegation, led by its general secretary Roshan Giri, arrived in New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, and opposition leaders L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Gorkhaland activists also took out rallies in the hill subdivisions of West Bengal, raising slogans and holding aloft posters saying 'We want Gorkhaland'.
Overnight, maps of the proposed state have appeared on the walls of the hills, alongside big cut-outs of GJM president Bimal Gurung and graffiti pressing for immediate granting of Gorkhaland.
However, Inspector General of police (North Bengal) Kundan Lal Tamta told IANS that the situation was peaceful. 'They are holding hunger strikes. But there has been no law and order problem,' Tamta said.
The central government in 2005 offered Sixth Schedule status to the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), ensuring greater autonomy to the governing body.
The GJM organised indefinite shutdowns twice in the hills last year and once in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls this year, severely hitting tea, timber and tourism - the bread and butter of the region.
Blockades and Bundhs
TT, Siliguri, Dec. 11: North Bengal is poised to witness a series of agitations in the next two weeks by outfits other than the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that are demanding separate states or opposing the Gorkhaland movement.
The list includes Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party, Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA), the two factions of Kamtapur People’s Party (KPP), Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchaon Committee and the GNLF.
“We met leaders of GCPA and KPP (Nikhil faction) today. Eleven workers from all three organisations (the third being Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party) will go on an indefinite hunger strike at Prantik Bazar on the Dinhata-Cooch Behar road from tomorrow, demanding the Greater Cooch Behar or the Kamtapur state,” said Asutosh Barma, the general secretary of Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party.
Dawa Pakhrin, the Kalimpong branch committee president of the GNLF, said his outfit will soon announce its programme. “As the Centre has agreed to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh, we feel our demand for Gorkhaland is justified,” he said.
The KPP’s Atul faction, which is also demanding a separate state of Kamtapur covering the six districts of north Bengal and parts of Assam, had already announced that it would block all national highways that pass through the region on December 20, a day before the fourth round of tripartite talks on Morcha demands is scheduled in Darjeeling. “We will not budge from our stance and will sit on the roads, demanding immediate dialogues and conferment of separate statehood and recognition of the Kamtapur language,” Atul said.
Members of Bhasha Banchaon Committee, an anti-Gorkhaland forum, has also declared road blockades, but it will be limited to Siliguri from December 14 to 17 during the general strike in the hills.
“We have already called a state-wide strike on December 21 as we are against the government holding talks with the Morcha. After the Morcha strike is over, we will picket in front of godowns and stop vehicles carrying food items to the hills,” Mukunda Majumdar, president of the committee, said.
Representatives of Amra Bangalee, who have also called a north Bengal strike on December 21, said they will oppose any activity of the Morcha in the plains.
Leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, which has often clashed with the Morcha in the Dooars, said they were keeping a close watch on the situation. “We will protest if any attempt is made to include the Dooars in the separate state that they are demanding,” said Rajesh Lakra, the secretary of the Dooars Terai committee of the Parishad.
Killer Tusker
TT,Jaigaon: Two women, collecting firewood from the fringes of the Champramari forest, were killed by a lone tusker in the Nagrakata area on Friday. The victims were residents of the Hilla tea estate. Six other women and a man were also injured. Police said the bodies of Budhi Oraon, 45, and Dewani Munda, 25, have been sent for post-mortem.
TT, Siliguri: Officials of the Baikunthapur forest division seized sal timber worth Rs 50,000 from a pick-up van at Darjeeling More here on Friday. Three persons, including the driver, were arrested. Tata garden to reopen today
Siliguri, Dec. 11: A tripartite agreement between labour officials, trade union leaders and the management of Nowera Nudday Tea Estate today paved the way for reopening of the closed garden tomorrow.
The Tata Tea-owned garden in Malbazar block has been closed since September 14. “Today, we have arrived at a consensus for reopening the garden from tomorrow. However, proceedings against those who allegedly violated the management’s directives will continue on the basis of the August 27 tripartite agreement,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association of which the Tata garden is a member.
Today’s meeting at the deputy labour commissioner’s (DLC) office in Jalpaiguri was attended by around 200 workers from both the Citu-run Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha-affiliated West Bengal Cha Mazdoor Sabha (WBCMS).
“The meeting decided that the management would disburse the ration and wages due to workers by December 15, while the bonus would be paid by December 25,” said Pulin Goldar, the assistant secretary of the WBCMS.
On August 10 a section of workers allegedly assaulted R.K. Ratan Singh, the medical officer of the garden, and kept him confined to his room for reportedly not granting maternity leave to a worker. A tripartite meeting on August 27 decided to suspend the 7-8 workers allegedly involved in the assault. As the garden reopened on August 28, the suspended workers joined work ignoring the management’s directives, prompting the authorities to announce indefinite suspension of work from September 14.
Rajat Pal, the DLC, said: “Both sides insisted on maintaining peace and not disrupting regular activities. They have agreed to abide by the tripartite agreement signed on August 27.”
Telangana Issue: Shutdown in coastal Andhra
IE,Hyderabad: A shutdown has been called in coastal Andhra and Rayalseema districts on Friday in protest against the Centre's decision to give its nod for initiating the process for the formation of a Telangana State. Incidents of violence and stoning of buses were reported in towns of coastal Andhra and Rayasaleema against the Centre's decision to carve out Telangana state.
 The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue intensified on Friday with the number of MLAs resigning climbing to 128 as protests broke out in non-Telangana regions over the Centre's decision to split the state. 23 more MLAs submitted their resignation to Speaker Kirankumar Reddy. In all 76 MLAs from Congress have resigned, 38 from TDP and 14 from PRP in the 294-member Assembly.Members of AP Legislative Assembly who have submitted their resignation to protest against creation of Telangana.
Amid a debate over whether or not to continue Assembly proceedings in the wake of the en masse resignations of legislators, the Speaker adjourned the House till Monday. The Speaker made it clear that he has to speak to all those who quit before taking a decision after ascertaining if they resigned due to their own volition or due to any compulsion. In view of the crisis, the state government is holding consultations with the Attorney General. Chief Minister K Rosaiah has called a meeting of floor leaders of all parties to take stock of the situation.
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Andhra MPs to take stock of the situation. The Central Government is now caught between the pro and anti-Telangana camps. It can neither afford to go back on its decision to carve out the Telangana state, nor can it allow the State government to be reduced to a minority.Senior Congress leaders, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi are involved in pacifying the MPs and MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region. There are reports that the Centre is trying to convince the MLAs and MPs to evolve a consensus over the issue. The Congress requires a consent from the disappointed MLAs and MPs to get the Telangana resolution passed in the assembly.
The Telangana region accounts for 119 of the 294 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. 25,000 Bhutanese resettled so far Bhutanusa.( Dec 9:) The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Wednesday that 25,000th refugee from Bhutan left camp in Nepal to begin a new life in the United States.
The United States has accepted the largest numbers of Bhutanese refugees followed by Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
In total, 22,060 refugees have been resettled in the US, 1006 in Australia, 892 in Canada, 316 in Norway, 305 in Denmark, 299 in New Zealand and 122 in the Netherlands, said a statement jointly issued by the UNHCR and the IOM.The resettlement program in Nepal, one of UNHCR´s largest, has been going on since November 2007 and is continuing with the strong cooperation between the Government of Nepal, UNHCR, IOM and the resettlement countries to enable a smooth and effective process.
“We have been receiving regular feedback from those resettled. They have written to us about their lives; they are learning new languages, their children are in school and they are happy with their new homes. Of course, they miss family and friends; the start of a new life in a new country is never easy,” said Diane Goodman, UNHCR Acting Representative in Nepal.
UNHCR continues to ensure that refugees are able to make free and informed decisions regarding durable solutions, the statement said.
IOM works with UNHCR and the resettlement countries to facilitate refugee departures from Nepal. According to the statement, some 86,739 refugees from Bhutan remain in seven camps in eastern Nepal. Further, 556 are expected to resettle this year. More than 80,728 refugees have already expressed their interest for resettlement.
Telangana eye-opener for Darjeeling party
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TT, Darjeeling, Dec. 10: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced a four-day strike in the Darjeeling hills from December 14, demanding that Gorkhaland be dealt simultaneously with Telangana and going back on its word that there would be no bandhs till the scheduled tripartite talks in the third week of this month.
The general strike is part of the series of agitation programmes (see chart) lined up by the Morcha which has lost faith in the tripartite talks between the Centre, state and its own leaders. Till date, the party had attached much importance to the talks and had even agreed to maintain congenial atmosphere before the fourth rounds on December 21.
“Given the developments that have taken place…the tripartite meeting is no longer important for us. We want Gorkhaland to be created along with the state of Telangana,” said Morcha president Bimal Gurung at a media conference in Singhmari. The party has decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike from tomorrow in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Siliguri and the Dooars as well.
Determined to go ahead with the agitation, Gurung said: “During the bandh, we will not allow even police vehicles to ply.”
Many hotels have already started advising tourists to cancel their trips. “Although it is not a peak season, we did have some bookings. Given the fact that the situation is definitely going to deteriorate in the days to come we are advising tourists to change their plans,” said a hotelier here.
More people will be inducted in the hunger strike from December 18 onwards. Till then, regular rallies by various frontal organisations of the party have been lined up.
With the Congress government at the Centre asking its counterparts in Andhra Pradesh to table a resolution on Telangana, the Morcha leadership is confused. “This means f the Centre is honest and willing, there is no need for tripartite talks and an interlocutor, you can get down to brass tacks and settle the matter,” said Morcha media and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri.
The Telangana development is worrying the CPM too. “We opposed the Centre (on formation of smaller states) since we knew that it would open a Pandora’s box. It will instigate the separatist forces in Bengal including those asking for Gorkhaland, Greater Cooch Behar and Kamtapur,” said CPM politburo member and industry minister Nirupam Sen after a state secretariat meeting in Calcutta this evening. The communists are divided on Telangana as the CPI supported its formation in Parliament.
Anti-Gorkha groups to resist ‘divide Bengal’ demand
SNS, SILIGURI, 10 DEC: With the possibility of the GJMM-announced fasting agitation spilling over in several parts of the plains, the anti-Gorkhaland pressure groups are bracing themselves to resist such “attempts to foment ethnic trouble in the peaceful plains”.
A senior GJMM leader, Mr Binay Tamang today said that the fasting unto death agitation would be held in Siliguri, Kalchini as well as at Pintail Village on the outskirts of Siliguri simultaneously with the three hill sub-divisions. “A group of 21 persons would fast in Siliguri and Kalchini aside from Pintail Village near Sukna. The programmes are final and we would not budge,” he declared.
Reacting sharply to such postures, the anti-Gorkhaland pressure groups like the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee, Aamra Bangali and Jana Chetana issued a stern warning to the GJMM leadership against such ‘misadventures'. “We would not brook attempts to disrupt the long standing inter-ethnic fraternity in the plains,” the pressure group leaders said.
According to the BOBBBC president, Dr Mukunda Majumder, they would assist the district law enforcers to prevent the agitators from squatting in any part of the plains.
“But, in case the administration remains inactive, we would put up resistance according to our capacity.
“The fasting and the strike are a farce in view of the uncertainty hanging over the national identity of most of the Nepali settlers. Until the matter is settled, the settlers have no right to raise any political demand, not to speak of a statehood demand,” he said.
Echoing the view, Aamra Bangali leader, Mr Khusi Ranjan Mondal said that they would not allow any fasting agitation anywhere in the plains.
“We would observe what role the administration plays. In case, it displays its customary apathy we would take law in our own hands.
“And if law and order problem befalls, the state government and the district administration would be held responsible,” he warned.
Charging the state government with blatant appeasement towards the Gorkhaland agitators, the Jana Chetana president, Dr Debaprasad Kar said that these soft-pedaling, if continued at this crucial juncture, would spell disaster for the territorial integrity of the state.
“The agitators should confine themselves within the hill boundary and if the GJMM indulges in misadventurism in the plains tit should be pushed back for the sake of peace in the multi-ethnic plains,” Dr Kar added.
Gorkha women to go for an indefinite dharna: Gurung
SNS,SILIGURI, 10 DEC: The GJMM president, Mr Bimal Gurung today announced in Darjeeling that 150 women activists associated with his party would sit in dharna for an indefinite period from 14 December in New Delhi and Kolkata, demanding prompt solution to the long-lingering Gorkhaland imbroglio. This apart, he said that the 21 December tripartite talks had “lost relevance” in view of the Centre's decision to grant statehood to Telangana.
“We would stop at nothing to achieve Gorkhaland. My party would put maximum pressure both on the Centre and the state government to consider our long-standing statehood demand. The Nari Morcha activists would sit for an indefinite dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The same would happen in Kolkata too,” he said, adding that the three-way parleys were no more relevant with the political trajectory changing towards the climactic point. Parties show concern over Telangana impact
Romit Bagchi, SNS, SILIGURI, 10 DEC: Parties across the political spectrum have expressed concern over the possible impact of the Centre's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh, on the lingering political tension in the Darjeeling hills. To add to their anxiety, the GJMM has decided to step up the agitation momentum in the form of a fast unto death in all the sub divisions of the Darjeeling district from tomorrow and a four-day hill strike beginning from 14 December.
Seemingly worried over the fast moving developments in the strife-scarred hills in the wake of the developing Telangana trajectory, the Pradesh Congress working president, Mr Pradip Bhattacharya today said from Kolkata that the Telangana-related development would have far reaching repercussions on the political scenario in the Darjeeling hills.
“We would land in trouble if the Centre remains firm in dividing Andhra Pradesh to carve out a Telangana state. The Gorkhaland movement would get a fillip and it would be difficult to contain it. However, the two propositions should not be muddled. Telangana is administratively and economically much more viable in view of its much larger territorial space than the proposed Gorkhaland state, comprising of three sub- divisions in the economically backward hilly terrain,” he said.
Reacting to the sudden turn of events, the CPI-M Central Committee member Mr Nilotpal Basu said that his party had not yet taken an official stand on the Telangana issue. “We would deliberate in details and then make our stand clear. But there is no logic in connecting the Telangana statehood issue with the one in the Darjeeling hills. The GJMM might be enthused by the development, but we want to make it categorically clear that there is no question of another bifurcation of West Bengal,” he affirmed. Speaking on the matter, a senior Trinamul leader and a Union minister, Mr Mukul Roy said that the party's Parliamentary Board would take the final stand on the sensitive issue. “We are worried too. But I am not competent to comment on it,” he added.
While supporting the Telangana statehood cause, the CPI veteran Mr Gurudas Dasgupta said that the Gorkhaland cause stood no comparison with it. “The proposed Telangana comprises of 10 Andhra districts. Besides, Andhra Pradesh itself came into existence as per the recommendations of the first State Re-organisation Commission. But the Darjeeling hills, on the other hand, have been part of Bengal from the beginning,” he said.
Asking the Centre to constitute the second SRC to consider the gamut of statehood demands in several parts of the country, the Forward Bloc general secretary, Mr Debabrta Biswas said that the Centre could open the mythical Pandora's Box only to the exacerbation of ethnic unrest. “The proposed Gorkhaland state is an impractical proposition in the first place. It is administratively and economically unviable. Besides, a second bifurcation of West Bengal is unacceptable to the people,” he said. Passing the ball in the Centre's court, state BJP leader, Mr Rahul Sinha said that it must evolve an enduring solution to the Gorkhaland tangle through continuous negotiations. “The GJMM cannot be blamed for undertaking agitation programmes like strike and fasting. These are much- used items in the conventional Parliamentary democracy arsenal,” he said.
Taking to task the Centre for deliberately keeping the self- determination aspirations in the hills under wraps by way of tripartite talks, the GJMM media secretary, Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri said that the Telangana people had no problem regarding their national identity unlike the Nepali-speaking Indians.
‘Police not to tolerate KPP disturbances’ SNS, JALPAIGURI, 10 DEC: The Inspector General of Police, North Bengal, Mr Kundan Lal Tamta, today said that he would not allow the Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) activists to organise any road block programme on 20 December, which is before the scheduled tripartite meet between Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, the state and the Central government on 21 December at the Hills.
“The KPP activists has threatened to stage a road block for an indefinite period from 20 December, but we can not allow any organisation to go ahead with such protest, especially before the scheduled tripartite meet,” said Mr Tamta.
According to the officer, sufficient police force would be deployed at Siliguri on 21 December, “and if required, we would impose the prohibitory Section of 144 CrPC at those places where they have decided to stage their protest,” he stated.
Organising any road block or torching government and personal properties is not allowable and agitators should always talk to the state or the Centre directly rather than indulging in such undemocratic steps, added the IG. TT,Siliguri, Dec. 10: A lawyer of Calcutta High Court has been lodged in Jalpaiguri Central Jail for the past five days after he was booked under the immoral trafficking act. He was caught in a compromising situation with a girl in a Salugara hotel on Friday night.
Acting on a tip-off, Bhaktinagar police raided the hotel and found Partha Sarathi Deb Burman with the girl in a room. The police also caught Biswajit Sarkar, a resident of Mathabhanga, with another girl in a room.
The four were booked under the immoral trafficking act and were denied bail by the chief judicial magistrate of Jalpaiguri, Sajan Sengupta, after they were produced before him the next day.
Telangana unlocks tempest 98 MLAs ‘quit’ in backlash
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G.S. RADHAKRISHNA TT, Hyderabad, Dec. 10: The Congress’s midnight gift to the people of Telangana demanding a separate state today triggered a political mutiny in the rest of Andhra Pradesh with as many as 98 lawmakers, including 56 from the ruling party, submitting their resignations from the legislature.
The backlash prevented the statehood resolution from being tabled in the Assembly today.
All these MLAs are from the Rayalaseema and coastal regions, which account for 13 of the state’s 23 districts. Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy said he had received the resignations but was yet to decide whether to accept them.
The Congress has 155 MLAs, 51 of them from Telangana, in the House of 294. The Telugu Desam, once an opponent of statehood but now a backer, has 92 MLAs, 29 of whom have given quit letters. Superstar Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam has 18, of whom 13 have resigned. Besides, some 30 members of the legislative council and at least one MP have also submitted resignation letters.
All MLAs from non-Telangana regions, cutting across party lines, will boycott the Assembly session tomorrow.
The rebellion forced the Congress to put off tabling the statehood resolution necessary for introducing a bill in Parliament. For the resolution to be passed, the Congress will require a two-thirds majority of the House, which means the support of at least 196 MLAs. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the flag-bearer of the agitation, has only 10 seats.
The government sought to play down the resignations. “The session is on till end-December. You need not hurry or worry,” Speaker Reddy said. He plans to meet the MLAs individually before taking a decision. A political source said some of the resignations could have been “orchestrated” by the Congress to buy time after its knee-jerk reaction yesterday.
The mass show of defiance came hours after Union home minister P. Chidambaram’s announcement around midnight yesterday that the Centre was ready to initiate the process of forming a state of Telangana, which includes prized Hyderabad. The decision was aimed at persuading statehood spearhead and TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao to call off his 10-day fast.
TRS leaders were smug from the success of their agitation. “You should count your days from now on as you are on our land,” party leader Etela Rajender cautioned other legislators.
The provocation touched a raw nerve among non-Telangana leaders. “For generations, people from all regions have invested crores in developing the state, particularly Hyderabad, and now we have to get out,” said a Congress MLA from Rayalaseema.
The struggle for Telangana has become a fight for Hyderabad, the most prosperous of the Andhra districts.
Industrialist T.G. Venkatesh, a Congress legislator from Kurnool, one of the Rayalaseema districts, said if Hyderabad had to be given to Telangana, the people of other regions, who have heavily invested in infrastructure, hospitality, the film industry as well as land, should get a compensation of over Rs 2 lakh crore.
The city, once notorious for communal riots and the land and construction mafia, was opened up for non-Telangana people during the Desam regimes of N.T. Rama Rao and Chandrababu Naidu, who said today his party would oppose bifurcation of Hyderabad.
Among the major non-Telangana investors in Hyderabad are GMR, which built the dazzling Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, and GVK, which has several infrastructure projects lined up.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which represents the city in the Lok Sabha, said Hyderabad should be turned into a Union Territory.
Chief minister K. Rosaiah, himself from outside Telangana, held an emergency cabinet meeting where he urged ministers to pacify the rebellious MLAs. Congress president Sonia Gandhi met disgruntled party MPs in New Delhi. Telengana Ok but Gorkhaland equally needed in larger interest
UNI, Ranchi, Dec 10 : The BJP today gave its support to the carving out of a separate state Telangana and said the party also favoured the separate statehood demand of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to protect Gorkhas' identity.
BJP spokesperson and MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy told newspersons here that the party ''unequivocally supported'' the creation of Telangana but refused to comment on the proposed demographic pattern of the carving out of the new state.
Mr Rudy claimed that formation of Gorkhaland would also prevent the random infiltration of people from Bangladesh.
''If Sikkim was possible, then why not Gorkhaland as it is at present more like a colony of West Bengal,'' he contended.
He said the BJP's stand on the issue was very clear as in the case of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
Referring to large scale infiltration, particularly from Bangladesh, he said Siliguri was flooded with illegal migrants.
He said Bihar was also a neighbouring state of West Bengal and the creation of separate Gorkhaland was not only good for the people living there, but it would augur well in the larger interest of the country.
Gorkhaland follows Telangana, demands Statehood
Lucknow, December 10:Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) workers have announced 96 hour Bandh in Darjeeling demanding statehood. The workers also announced that they will go for a fast until death till the time they are granted statehood.
Gorkhaland is the name given to the area around Darjeeling and the Duars in north West Bengal in India. Residents of the area, mostly Nepali speaking Gorkhas have long sought a separate state for themselves to improve their socio-economic conditions and to preserve the identities of the non-Bengali majority in the area who form a minority in the whole of Bengal.
Meanwhile, inspired by the success of TRS, Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha also has decided to launch a 'massive' agitation for a separate Bundelkhand state.
"We had been with the TRS in its struggle for the separate Telangana state and we are happy that their long struggle have started bearing fruits and now we would go all out to launch a massive struggle for Bundelkhand state", BMM President Raja Bundela said. "The struggle for Bundelkhand has been going on for the past twenty years as people there have realised that the region cannot develop without separate statehood and now we will give it a fresh momentum," Bundela said, adding that as a first step a 300-km long march from Chitrakoot to Kamtanath in Madhya Pradesh would start from December 16.
The proposed Bundelkhand is divided between the state of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. (Zopag News Network with PTI inputs)
After Telangana Gorkhaland and Harit Pradesh gears up
Akriti Sharma, MyNews, Siliguri/ New Delhi: After the centeral government given the green signal for the creation of separate state of Telangana, the demand of separate states of 'Ghorkhaland' and 'Harit Pradesh' too geared up. The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) announced an indefinite hunger strike for a separate Gorkhaland state and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, too demanded a separate Harit Pradesh which will be formed from the state of Uttar Pradesh.
 The hunger strike for a Gorkhaland state to be carved out of some northern parts of West Bengal would be held in Darjeeling district's three hill subdivisions and the plains of Siliguri.
"Twenty-one youth activists will be on indefinite hunger strike in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong and Siliguri till we get Gorkhaland," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told. Giri also announced a four-day shutdown in the area Dec 14-17. Besides, the GJM activists will take out massive rallies in the hills from Thursday, he said.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday night gave the green signal for a separate Telangana state, following widespread protests in Andhra Pradesh and the deteriorating health condition of Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao who had been on a fast-unto-death for 11 days. |
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